Ingot mold closure



`)une 27, 1933. E, GATHMANN 4 1,915,729

INGOT MOLD CLOSURE Filed Oct. 17, 1932 the closure p Patented June 27,-1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EMIL GATHMANN, 0F BALTIHOBE, MARYLANDINGOT HOLD GLOSUBE Application led October 17, 1932. Serial No. 688,208.

This invention relates to in ot mold closures and more particularly to cosures which are adapted especially for use in big-end-up molds fromwhich solidified ingots are 5 stripped b means of a stripper rod or thelike Inova le vertically through openings in the bottoms of the molds.

` In order to facilitate the removal of ingots from big-end-up molds ithas become 10 universal practice to provide the molds with bottomopenings fitted with removable closure plugs, the arrangement being suchthat after an ingot has solidified a stripper rod or the like may beprojected into contact with ug and partially through the mold to stripthe ingot from the mold. Stripping apparatus of this nature is shown forexample in my copending applications Serial Number 567,281, filedOctober 6, 1931, and Serial Number 619,807, filed June 19, 1932.

It is very important that the mold closures seal the mold bottom openingeffectively in order to prevent molten metals leaking.

through the opening and damaging the stripping apparatus and/or causinga sticker,

i. e., an ingot stuck within the mold so as to render diilicult itsremoval or stripping. Experience has shown that the mold bottom openingscan be sealed most effectively by means of tapered plugs of bondedrefractory material adapted to seat snugly within the openings and to beadjustable to irregularities in the contour of the Walls of the openingsso as to have uninterrupted sealing en- 35 gagement with the wallsaround the entire An object of the present invention is to provide amold closure adapted both to seal a mold bottom opening efficiently andto provide for the smooth and uninterruptedtransmission of strippingforce from a stripper rod or the like to an ingot in the mold. A furtherobject is to provide a closure possessing the above named advantage andincludlng a sealing'plug of refractory material and a strippmg plug ofsubstantially rigl material, the arrangement of the two belng such as toprevent crushing of the refractory sealing plug during the strippingoperation. Other objects will become apparent fromla reading of thefollowing description, the

appended claims, and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a car-supported ingot moldequipped with a bottom closure constructed within the mold in accordancewith the invention, an ingot being shown in its lower position Withinthe mold, and stripping apparatus being shown in cooperative relation 75with the mold, ingot, and closure;

Figure 2 yis a View similar to Figure 1 with the ingot shown in strippedor elevated position A Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary verti calsectional view of an ingot mold and shows 9 one form of my improvedclosure in operative position Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of amodified construction; and

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the clo- '.85

sure shown in Figure 4.

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, which shows a big-end-up ingot mold A of theGathmann type supported upon a stool B which in turn is supported upon atransfer car C adapted to run on tracks D for moving the supported moldor molds from the pouring station to the stripping station.

top face of the mold A for holding the latter against vertical movementduring the strip` ping operation, while a hydraulic plunger F, mountedbelow the level of the car and in line with the holding device E, isadapt/cd10 d oo and arranged 70 A holding device E is shown inengagement with the stripping of to move a stripper rod G upwardly toeect an ingot H from the mold A. The general arrangement of the partsthus far described does not in itself constitute the present invention,it being claimed in my copending application Serial Number 567,281,filed @ctober 6, 1931.

The mold A is provided with a vertically extending ingot-forming chamber1 the Walls of which are necked in near the bottom as at 2, thenecked-in portion 2 terminating in an annular seat 3 at the top of andsurrounding a bottom opening generally designated 4 comprising a taperedupper part 5 and a straight lower part 6. The straight part 6 of theopening 4 is somewhat smaller in diameter than the tapered partimmediately above it, thereby providing a second annular seat 7, thislatter seat being disposed near the bottom of and within the opening 4.

rlhe stripper rod G is mounted for vertical movements within an opening8 in the car and is adapted to be moved upwardly through an opening 9 inthe stool B and through the mold bottom opening 4 for stripping theingot from the mold. As disclosed in detail in my copending applicationsreferred to above, a latch rod 10 adapted to cooperate with notches 11in the stripper rod G may be employed for maintaining the ingot inraised position after the stripping operation has been performed. Thestool B is shown as being provided with openings 12 extending throughits horizontal web portion for permitting air to pass up through themold when the ingot has been raised so as to promote cooling of theingot in accordance with the method of producing ingots disclosed andclaimed in my copending application Serial Number 621,100, l'iled Julye, 1932.

llt will be understood that the primary purpose of providing an openingin the mold bottom is to make possible the movement of a device such asthe stripping rodG upwardly to push the solidified ingot partiallythrough the mold and upwardly relative to the latter, this beingnecessary because of the taper of the mold chamber walls. Before moltenmetal can be poured into the mold, the opening 4 must be closed in sucha way as to prevent a leak or run-out and yet to permit properfunctioning of the stripping mechanism, and the present invention has todo more particularly with the construction of the closure device l andits novel arrangement relative to the mold itself.

In accordance with the invention the closure I is of a composite natureand comprises a sealing plug 13, which primarily serves purely as asealing means, and a stripping member generally designated 14.Preferably the sealing plug 13 is of annular shape and has its outerwall 15 tapered inwardlyfrom top to bottom so as to engage the wall ofthe tapered part 5 of the mold bottom opening and thus to seal theopening against leakage of molten metal. ln order to obtain the mosteffective sealing it is preferable to make the sealing plug of bondedrefractory material adapted to wear away slightly when the plug isturned within the opening so as to adapt itself to any irregularitiespresent in the shape of the opening. For a purpose to be set forthlater, the plug is formed with a central opening 16 which tapersinwardly from top to bottom.

rllhe stripping member 14 com'pises a rigid and preferably metallicstripping plug 17 adapted to be positioned concentrically within theopening 16 in the annular sealing plug for transmitting force from thestripper rod to the ingot during the stripping operation to lift theingot without crushing the refractory sealing plug. Preferably the plug17 is of a size to fit somewhat freely within the opening in the sealingplug, and to provide for a free lit without undue clearance the plug maybe tapered, as shown, to conform to the taper of the opening.

ln order to prevent metal being poured from cutting away the refractoryplug 13 ll prefer to construct the stripping member to include aplate 18adapted to overlie the sealing plug and to project beyond the mar-I ginof the sealing plug so as to rest on the vupper seat 3, the plate beingconnected to the stripping plug 17 to support the latter as well as toserve as a splash plate for protecting the sealing plug from the cuttingaction of the falling liquid metal. The plate 18 and plug 17 may be madeintegrally or may be connected in any suitable manner, such as byWelding them together as at- 19 in the form shown in Figure 3, or byproviding the plug with a dove tail projection 20 cast into an openingin the plate as in the modification shown in Figures 4 and 5.

To insure still further against the leakage of molten metal and toprevent the sealing plug from crumbling and falling down onto thestripping mechanism I prefer to provide a metal plate 21 whichconveniently may be supported on the seat 7 below and out of contactwith the sealing plug.

lin use, the plate 21 first is inserted from above and placed upon theseat 7. Then the sealing plug 13 is inserted in the tapered upper partof the opening 4 and is rotated slightly so as to produce a grindingeffect on its outer wall resulting in a snug fit despite slightirregularities in the wall of the opening. The stripping member 14 thenis lowered so that the stripping plug 17 will be positionedconcentrically within and will extend vertically through the sealingplug, the plate 18 being rested upon the seat 3. The mold is then readyto be poured.

After the ingot metal has solidified, the car is moved to position themold under the holding device E and over the plunger F, the

holding device is moved down into engagement with the mold, and theplunger F and stripper rod G are raised. The rod Will engage and liftthe plate 21 into contact With the stripping plug 17 and Will transmitlifting force through the latter to the ingot. In this way, thestripping force is transmitted to the ingot through rigid connections sothat smooth stripping operation, free from shocks heretofore due tofailure of the conventional refractory closure, is assured. Furthermore,my arrangement prevents the fouling of the stripping mechanism with bitsof refractory material.

Although the invention has been disclosed herein in a practical and thepreferred form various modifications may be employed Without departingfrom the spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. A composite closure for an ingot mold comprising an outer annularsealing plug of bonded refractory material Whose marginal wall tapersinwardly from top to bottom; and a stripping member comprising a plateoverlying said sealing plug and projecting beyond the margin thereof,and a metallic stripping plug connected to said plate and being taperedinwardly from top to bottom concentricallyv Within said sealing plug.

2. The combination with a big-end-up ingot mold having a bottom openingand a seat at the top of said opening; of a composite closure for saidopening comprising an annular sealing plug of refractory materialdisposed Within said opening and having its outer wall in engagementwith the Wall of said opening, and a stripping member comprising a plateoverlying said sealing plug and having its marginal portion rested uponsaid seat and a stripping plug connected to said plate and extendedvertically through said sealing plug.

3. The combination with a big-end-up ingot mold having a bottom opening,an upper seat at the top of said opening and surrounding the latter, anda rlovver seat at the bottom of said opening and Within the latter; of acomposite closure for said opening comprising an annular sealing plugdisposed Within said opening and having its outer Wall in engagementwith the Wall of said opening, a stripping member comprising a plateoverlying said sealing plug and having its marginal portion rested uponsaid seat and a stripping plug connected to said plate and extendingvertically through said sealing v plug, and a second plate positioned onsaid lower seat and disposed below and out of contact with said sealingplug and stripping member.

4. A closure for a big-end-up ingot mold having a bottom opening and aseat at the top of said opening, said closure `comprising an annularsealing plug of refractory material adapted to be positioned Withintheopening in said mold with its outer Wall in sealing contact with theWall of said opening; and a stripping member comprising a plate adaptedto overly said sealing plug with the marginal portion of the plateresting upon said seat, anda stripping plug connected to said plate andextending vertically through said sealing plug.

5. A closure for a big-end-up ingot mold having a bottomopeningthrough'which an ingot stripping rod is adapted to be moved forstripping an ingot from said mold, an upper seat at the top of saidopening and surrounding the latter, and a lower seat at the bottom ofsaid opening and Within the latter, said closure comprising an annularsealing plug of refractory material adapted to be positioned Withintheopening in said mold with its outer Wall in sealing contact with theWall of said opening; and a stripping member comprising a plate adaptedto overly said sealing plug With the marginal portion of the plateresting upon said seat, and a rigid stripping plug connected to saidplate and extending vertically through said sealing plug, and a secondplate positioned on said Contact with said sealing plug and strippingmember and above the normal position of a stripper rod when said mold isin strippin position relative thereto.

6. A closure for the vertically extending bottom opening of a big-end-upingot mold scribed my name.

EMIL GATHMANN.

lower seat and disposed below and out of

